Book Review: Appearance bias and crime

• Published date: 01 September 2024
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1177/07340168211001919
• Author: Nathan E. Kruis,Rae Griffith,Nicholas J. Rowland
• Date: 01 September 2024

Helter Skelter chapter at the beginning. Still, these do little to detract from the overall quality of the

book. Yesterday’s Monsters would be relevant for anyone interested in the parole process, but less

appealing for someone interested solely in the Manson Family’s crimes themselves, as it only

briefly addresses them. This lack of information about the Manson Family cases indicates one

barrier to entry, which is that one likely needs to be somewhat familiar with the crimes to understand

all the facets and intricacies of the book. That being said, Yesterday’s Monsters is informative enough

to teach the complexities of the parole process to an undergraduate or graduate course (as it also pro-

vides some foundational information on the parole process)—though some background information

on the crimes may be necessary.

ORCID iD

James M. O’Berry IIhttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-1727-7845

Berry, B. (Ed.). (2019).

Appearance bias and crime. Cambridge University Press. 294 pp. $34.99 (paper). ISBN 9781108432016.

Reviewed by: Nathan E. Kruis,Penn State Altoona, PA, USA; Rae Griffith, Penn State Altoona, PA, USA; and

Nicholas J. Rowland,Penn State Altoona, PA, USA

DOI: 10.1177/07340168211001919

At least since Dion et al.’s (1972) seminal work, social scientists have known that looks can

directly influence one’s quality of life. More recent research has also suggested that looks influence

both suspect and victim experiences with the criminal justice system linking race, gender, and

social status to criminal propensity; risk of victimization; and treatment by actors within the

system. Indeed, much of Bonnie Berry’s early work has helped to demonstrate a relationship

between physical appearance and life outcomes, while showing that perceptions of attractiveness

can be socially constructed and influencedbysexismandracism.AccordingtoBerry,“white”and

“heteronormative”features and behaviors are “typically”linked to beauty. Attractive people—by

this distorted definition—are viewed as more socially favorable, which manifests through their

having better jobs, happier marriages, and more satisfying lived experiences. Thus, perceptions

of appearance can lead to the disenfranchisement of certain segments of society, such as racial

minorities and members of the LGBTQ+communities. Berry’s recent edited volume,

Appearance Bias and Crime, synthesizes research in these areas, providing a broad overview of

research linking “socially unappealing”traits to criminal involvement, risk of victimization, and

treatment in the justice system.

“Appearance bias”includes visible aspects of physical features related to age, race, gender, sex,

LGBTQ+status, and more, which are analytically managed through the lens of intersectionality

linking these variables to their corollary impact on system responses. This framework, therefore,

links social equity to appearance, which Berry describes as “the last and least considered form of

discrimination.”In response, this 15-chapter edited volume brings emerging research into conversa-

tion with seminal work in the area to present a clear argument for why scholars and activists should

direct attention toward the impact of appearance on criminal justice outcomes.

The book is as empirically compelling as it is practically relevant. For example, in Chapter 6,

“Becoming and Being a Woman Prisoner,”Chaney’s work shows the reader how physical traits,

character, and tribal status interact to influence perceptions of dangerousness, blameworthiness,

and lack of remorse. Accordingly, this can influence juror decision making, which leads to

398 Criminal Justice Review 49(3)